Western men open LEC play with a 1-0 win over Southern Maine

GORHAM, ME (Sept. 15) — Junior Gabriel Goja (Naugatuck, Conn.) scored the only goal of the match in the 41st minute and goalkeeper Jack Holub (Sherman, Conn.) recorded four saves as the Western Connecticut State University Colonials slipped by the University of Southern Maine Huskies, 1-0, in the teams’ Little East Conference opener Saturday afternoon at Hannaford Field.

The win was the first of the season for the Colonials are improved to 1-3-1 overall. The Huskies dropped their third straight match to slip to 1-5-0.

Goja took advantage of a Huskies miscue on the back line to pick up a loose ball at the top of the 18-yard box, take a touch and slip a 12-yard shot past USM senior goalkeeper Jeremy Turner (Portland, Maine/Deering). The goal was the first of the season for Goja.

Holub came up big on two occasions in the first half to keep the game scoreless. The junior keeper made outstanding saves on USM scoring bids by freshman Harrison Hall (Kennebunkport, Maine/Kennebunk) in the 11th minute and sophomore Mazen Aljari (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) in the 15th minute.

Turner kept his team within a goal with a one-handed tip over the crossbar of a long-range bid from Goja in the 68th minute. Turner finished the match with two saves.

Southern Maine had a slim 8-7 edge in shots while Western Conn. had a 6-2 margin in corner kicks.

The Huskies return to play on Tuesday (7:00 p.m.) when they travel to Thomas College for a non-conference match. The Colonials will entertain Mitchell College on Wednesday (7:00 p.m.).